This invention relates to pneumatic compressor systems; and more particularly relates to a novel and improved air compressor for charging storage tanks.
I previously devised a pneumatic pressure system for charging storage tanks and reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,268, issued Aug. 8, 2000 entitled PNEUMATIC COMPRESSOR SYSTEM and co-pending Ser. No. 09/169,137, filed Jul. 18, 2000 entitled SWASH PLATE COMPRESSOR ASSEMBLY, and incorporated by reference herein. That system is characterized by being a swash plate type of air compressor capable of delivering pressures into the range of 200 psi and capable of charging different holding tanks so that each tank can serve as a self-contained source of pressurized air for various applications and resulted in decided improvements in terms of energy conversion, size and weight along with the noise associated with the operation of previous compressor designs.
Among other features, the swash plate technology employed in my previous patents resulted in substantial improvements in converting the wave-like or figure-eight pattern of movement of the swash plate into the reciprocal movement of the piston rods driven off of the swash plate through associated cylinders. The major limitation imposed upon the swash plate compressor as I designed resided in the number of cylinders for a given size or diameter of compressor system and therefore the maximum storage capacity and volumetric efficiency available. Of additional importance is to achieve pressures in the range of 135 psi and volumetric efficiency on the order of 53.96% and as high as 77.1% for smaller-sized air tanks which impose limitations on the size of air compressor that can be utilized to charge the tank.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a portable, high capacity air compressor system for charging air tanks over wide pressure ranges with increased volumetric efficiency while maintaining a simplified, compact compressor design; and at the same time it is important to maintain the most compact design possible so as to be readily insertable into the maximum range of air tank configurations and sizes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a novel and improved air compressor.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a novel and improved air compressor system which is capable of converting precessional movement of a swash plate into reciprocal movement of a series of piston rods whereby to cause the piston heads or domes associated with the piston rods to become axially aligned with their respective cylinders at the end of each piston stroke.
A further object of the present invention is to provide for dual cylinders on a common piston rod to increase the volumetric displacement of an air compressor system for a given diameter; and further wherein a stabilizer is interposed between cylinder pairs of each piston assembly to minimize stress on the piston rods by maintaining proper alignment between the rods and their respective cylinders.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel and improved air compressor system for charging air tanks and which is characterized by increasing the storage capacity of the tanks in serving as a stand-alone source of pressurized air for different applications.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide for a novel and improved air compressor system for charging air tanks of different sizes and for a wide range of applications requiring medium pressure in excess of 90 psi.
The present invention resides in a novel and improved air compressor system which is operable alone or in combination with one or more air tanks for the delivery of pressurized air from the compressor into the tank. In order to achieve delivery of air pressure exceeding 90 psi with maximum volumetric efficiency, the air compressor system comprises a motor driven swash plate which translates rotational movement into reciprocal movement of a plurality of circumferentially arranged piston rods, each piston rod including a piston head at one end which is reciprocal through one of a pair of mutually opposed cylinders, each piston rod and piston head being of one-piece construction. Additionally, each piston head is provided with a dynamic leaflet valve mounted thereon and serving as an intake valve, and each cylinder has a cylinder head with an exhaust valve mounted therein to accelerate the opening and closing movement of the respective valve in response to reciprocal movement of the piston heads through their respective cylinders. A universal connection made up of mutually perpendicular fork connectors serves to connect an intermediate portion of each piston rod to the periphery of the swash plate and, with the aid of a stabilizer member, compensates for variations in rotational and radial movement of the piston rods away from a longitudinal axis extending through the cylinders as the rods are reciprocated by the swash plate. The system design as described eliminates the standard intake manifold common to air compressors and which tend to restrict air flow; and the air intake volumetric size is increased by locating the intake valve in the piston head and the exhaust valve in the cylinder head.
There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.